Events mark tornado anniversary

Two years after deadly storm, city remembers past and focuses on future

A pile of debris remains where Alberta Church of God used to be after the April, 27, 2011, tornado. Several events are being held to mark the second anniversary of the deadly storm and celebrate the city's recovery.

Submitted photo

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 11:27 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | With the tornado of April 27, 2011, nearing its second anniversary, Tuscaloosa City Hall has a week’s worth of events planned that are meant to look forward while thinking back.

“The week will focus not on what happened, but what is happening,” Deidre Stalnaker, media relations coordinator for City Hall, said. “Great strides are being made in rebuilding this city, and we want to show off how far we’ve come.”

It starts on Monday with the 10 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony for one of the city facilities that was destroyed in the storm.

The Richard S. Curry Environmental Services Building is a $7.575 million replacement of the city’s sanitation headquarters.

Going up at 3440 Kauloosa Ave., the building has been dubbed a state-of-the-art facility for workers and customers that will incorporate modern garbage-processing equipment that the Environmental Services Department lacked in its former building.

The design also contains elements that can accommodate visitors and customers in ways that the department was unable to do before, such as the capacity to handle 24-hour drop-offs of recycled materials.

The department’s previous building had a temporary drop-off location, but it was not available around the clock.

Construction of the new facility is expected to reach $6.06 million and take about a year to complete.

The remaining $1.515 million of the total cost will go to engineering, furnishings, equipment and related expenses.

On Tuesday, an oral history exhibit entitled “Listening to the Storm: A Natural Disaster in Retrospective” opens at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway.

This exhibit runs through June 7 and will offer firsthand accounts of first responders, volunteers and survivors.

Museum director Shaina Strom said that between 50 and 60 accounts have been recorded, but about 25 will be part of the actual exhibit.

The remainder will be stored in an archive to which the museum intends to continually add.

Wednesday brings the dedication of the Alberta Community Garden that is being constructed with a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Tuscaloosa was awarded the GRO1000 Gardens and Green Spaces Grant Award, which is sponsored by Scotts Miracle-Gro, in January.

It includes a $15,000 cash award and $10,000 of in-kind product from Scotts Miracle-Gro.

The dedication is planned for 10 a.m. at 706 25th Ave. in Alberta.

On Thursday, the city hosts an open house for the reopening of the Tuscaloosa Police Department’s East Precinct in Alberta.

The $430,000 project renovated and repaired the precinct after it took heavy damage from the tornado.

The East Precinct first opened in December 2009 and, within six months, crime decreased by 38 percent on nearby Juanita Drive, where about 7 percent of crimes in the city were reported, according to Police Department statistics.

The final event of the week is the 11 a.m. Friday ceremony for Alagasco’s “Lighting the Way” project.

Set in Jaycee Park at 701 Kicker Road, the gas company will set alight a commemorative gas lamp to mark the tornado anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement.

Alagasco began its “Lighting the Way” project in February when it lit the first commemorative lamp at Railroad Park in Birmingham.

The lamps are meant to “highlight our state’s history (while) illuminating our hopes for tomorrow,” according to the company’s website.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | With the tornado of April 27, 2011, nearing its second anniversary, Tuscaloosa City Hall has a week's worth of events planned that are meant to look forward while thinking back.</p><p>“The week will focus not on what happened, but what is happening,” Deidre Stalnaker, media relations coordinator for City Hall, said. “Great strides are being made in rebuilding this city, and we want to show off how far we've come.”</p><p>It starts on Monday with the 10 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony for one of the city facilities that was destroyed in the storm.</p><p>The Richard S. Curry Environmental Services Building is a $7.575 million replacement of the city's sanitation headquarters.</p><p>Going up at 3440 Kauloosa Ave., the building has been dubbed a state-of-the-art facility for workers and customers that will incorporate modern garbage-processing equipment that the Environmental Services Department lacked in its former building.</p><p>The design also contains elements that can accommodate visitors and customers in ways that the department was unable to do before, such as the capacity to handle 24-hour drop-offs of recycled materials.</p><p>The department's previous building had a temporary drop-off location, but it was not available around the clock.</p><p>Construction of the new facility is expected to reach $6.06 million and take about a year to complete.</p><p>The remaining $1.515 million of the total cost will go to engineering, furnishings, equipment and related expenses.</p><p>On Tuesday, an oral history exhibit entitled “Listening to the Storm: A Natural Disaster in Retrospective” opens at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway.</p><p>This exhibit runs through June 7 and will offer firsthand accounts of first responders, volunteers and survivors.</p><p>Museum director Shaina Strom said that between 50 and 60 accounts have been recorded, but about 25 will be part of the actual exhibit. </p><p>The remainder will be stored in an archive to which the museum intends to continually add.</p><p>Wednesday brings the dedication of the Alberta Community Garden that is being constructed with a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.</p><p>Tuscaloosa was awarded the GRO1000 Gardens and Green Spaces Grant Award, which is sponsored by Scotts Miracle-Gro, in January. </p><p>It includes a $15,000 cash award and $10,000 of in-kind product from Scotts Miracle-Gro.</p><p>The dedication is planned for 10 a.m. at 706 25th Ave. in Alberta.</p><p>On Thursday, the city hosts an open house for the reopening of the Tuscaloosa Police Department's East Precinct in Alberta.</p><p>The $430,000 project renovated and repaired the precinct after it took heavy damage from the tornado.</p><p>The East Precinct first opened in December 2009 and, within six months, crime decreased by 38 percent on nearby Juanita Drive, where about 7 percent of crimes in the city were reported, according to Police Department statistics.</p><p>The final event of the week is the 11 a.m. Friday ceremony for Alagasco's “Lighting the Way” project.</p><p>Set in Jaycee Park at 701 Kicker Road, the gas company will set alight a commemorative gas lamp to mark the tornado anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement.</p><p>Alagasco began its “Lighting the Way” project in February when it lit the first commemorative lamp at Railroad Park in Birmingham.</p><p>The lamps are meant to “highlight our state's history (while) illuminating our hopes for tomorrow,” according to the company's website.</p><p>Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.</p>